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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Bronzes : Bronze Sculpture of the God Khnum
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Bronze Sculpture of the God Khnum - PF.5777
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 625
BC
to 550
BC
Dimensions:
1.75" (4.4cm) high
x 2.75" (7.0cm) wide
Collection: Egyptian
Medium: Bronze
Additional Information: HK
£5,000.00
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
Khnum, the creator god, represented as a ram
headed man, is one of the oldest deities in the
Ancient Egyptian pantheon. His name means: “to
create.” He was the creator of all things that are and
all things that shall be. He created the gods and he
fashioned mankind on a potter’s wheel. A water god,
he was closely associated with the annual flooding of
the Nile, and thus intimately interlinked with the life-
nourishing harvest that made the desert terrain
habitable.
This sculpture of Khnum represents the god in his
animal form. Here he is not a human with the head of
a ram, but an entire ram. The modeling of the head is
especially impressive. The sculptor carefully crafted
the forms of the pointed ears that protrude from the
semicircular projecting horns. The facial structure of
the ram, including the flat, hooked nose so
characteristic of the creature, is extremely
naturalistic. So how do we know this is Khnum and
not just an ordinary, albeit noticeably beautiful, ram?
There is the fragment of the crown of Upper Egypt on
the top of his head. This symbol, in its original state,
would have been clearly recognizable to Ancient
Egyptians and would have revealed the divine nature
of this creature. Today, this piece remains a striking
work of art as gorgeous as the day it was cast.
- (PF.5777)
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